A Season between dark and light

We’ve entered a new season of the Trump presidency. Today we look back on the 9 months before the election and see Donald Trump at the apex of his power, where he gets virtually everything he demands. Now we are in the opening hours of a new season of that will end in judgment by the voters a year from now.

As these seasons change we are seeing an angrier Trump, on defense over losing control of the Congress over the Epstein files and a MAGA movement at war with itself on multiple fronts.

Meanwhile, local Republican leaders around the country are increasingly caught between the interests of their constituents and the dark forces that now control their party. In state after state local GOP leaders are finding themselves on defense and at odds with their neighbors. On tariffs, health care, food cuts — President Trump’s policies are making life harder for most people and leaders are hearing about it. Cancelled construction projects and killed energy tax credits are putting people out of work in communities across states both red and blue. Asked to defend all this, many are finding it’s not easy being a local Republican official these days.

What does it really mean to be a defender of the current agenda, to be on Team Trump? On the national level, the enemies list gets longer every day. Defy Trump and pay the price. And Team Trump saves some of its worst treatment for allies that stray from the approved orthodoxy. Ask Marjorie “Traitor” Greene, one of Trump most loyal and vocal allies. Lately she’s been vilified by Trump and in MAGA media, and is now flooding the airwaves in open defiance of Trump.

Ask Indiana Senator Greg Goode, who was “swatted” at his home on Sunday after Trump targeted him on social media. Goode’s opposition to redrawing congressional districts in the Hoosier state has brought out the trolls. Dark Money groups from out of state are promising to continue the toxic pressure. A Trump operative said, “It’s going to get real painful,” The meaning is clear: Communities across Indiana will be bombarded with attack ads targeting REPUBLICANS. Talk about eating your own.

As the economy falters and dissatisfaction grows, Trump is looking increasingly out of touch with the voters that elected demanding even more blind loyalty from supporters regardless of the issue. Don’t get it wrong, Republicans aren’t ready to ditch Trump yet, but the questions are building and the results of the election last month have many in the GOP doing the math and wondering about life beyond Trump. The House revolt over the Epstein files is a major break. The season of blind loyalty is waning, as the reality of the policies are having effects on real people and Election 2026 appears on the horizon.